Hay-stacker.



PATENTED JAN. 6, 1903.

W. SAIGHMAN. HAY STAGKER.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 27, 1902.

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No. 717,625. PATBNTED JAN. 6, 190a;

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HAY S-TAGKER.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 2?, 1902.

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UNITE STATES i PATENT FFICE.

WILLIAM SAIGHMAN, OF LONGMONT, COLORADO.

I HAY-STACKER.

.sPEoiFrcAT'Imv forming part of Letters Patent No. 717,625, dated January 6, 1 903.

Application filed January 27, 1902. Serial No. 91,325. (No model.)

To (ZZZ whom, it may concern: Be it known that 1, WILLIAM SAIGHMAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Longmout, in the county of Boulder and State of Colorado, have invented new and useful Improvements in Hay-Stackers, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to hay-stackers; and the object that I have in View is to produce a stacker of the kind that will be cheap in construction, easy of manipulation, practical in operation, and susceptible of long durability. This result is attained by constructing the stacker so that the fork-head is nearer the applied power when the lifting begins than when the loadhas been raised to a certain point. At said .point the fork-head begins to rise automatically, and when the lifterarms attain a vertical position the fork-head reaches its utmost elevation and discharges the load. Thus the starting pull required is less than it would be if the forked head were secured rigidly to the lifter-arms.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a sideelevation of a stacker embodying my invention, showing the fork-head in three positions. Fig. 2 is an end elevation looking towardthe'right in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is an enlarged broken-away side elevation of one of the lifter-arms and the slide-bar connected thereto. Fig. 4. is a similar view looking in the direction of the arrow. Figs. 5 and 6 are enlarged detail views, partly in section, of guides for the slide-bars and fork-head. Figs. 7 and 8 represent modifications'described hereinafter.

The frame of the stacker comprises two runmore 1 1, two uprights "2 '2, two angle-braces 3 3, connecting the tops of the uprights 2 2 to the ends of the runners Opposite the up rights, two cross-pieces-3 l, connecting the front and rear ends of the runners, respectively, a cross-pieceo, connecting the uprights 2 2 near their upper ends, and cross-braces 6 6 for said uprights. (See Fig. 2.)

The lifter-arms 7 7 are pivotally connected at their lower ends to the respective uprights 2 2 near the lower ends thereof. The arms 7 7 areconnected togetherand braced laterally by a cross-piece S, to each end of which is secured a grooved pulley 9. Mounted on the upper end of each angle-brace 3 is a grooved pulley 10. Two grooved pulleys 12 12 are attached to theupper face of cross-piece 3, connecting the runners 1 1 near the respective ends thereof. These pulleys 12 are set at right angles to pulleys 10, but are directly below the latter. To each angle-brace 3 near its upper end is secured a rope 13, which passes around one of the pulleys 9 on cross-piece 8, thence back around one of the pulleys 10, thence down to one of the pulleys 12 12, and thence laterally; as shown in Fig. 2. The lower ends of said ropes 13 13 are connected to the usual whiffietree, (not shown,) which is drawn by a team of horses orany other preferred power. Thus when there is'no pull on the ropes 13 13 the lifter-arms 7 7 will descend by gravity to the loading position. (Shown by dotted lines in Fig. 1.) When the ropes 13 13 are pulled away, (to theright'in Fig. 2,) they will raise the lifter-arms 7 7 by pulling on pulleys 9 9. The highest or dumping position of the lifter-arms and the forkhead 14: is shown by dotted lines in Fig. l.

The fork-head 14 is of ordinary construction, having the longteeth 14 and the short teeth 14" secured thereto. The long teeth 14 are connected together by a cross-piece l5, and in the angle between the long and the shortteethis secured another cross-piece 16. The fork-head 14. is supported by two slide-bars 17 17, mounted, respectively, at the outer sides of the lifter-arms 7 7, as shown. The fork-head is secured to the slide-bars 17 by, means of two blocks 17' 17; (Shown in Figs. 1, 3, and 7.) The slide-bars are held in alinement with the lifter-arms 7 7 as follows: Secured to the lower end of each slide-bar 17, at the lower end thereof, is an iron strap or sleeve 18, the ends of which pass partly around the adjacent arm 7. Above each sleeve 18 is a strap or sleeve 19, embracing one of the slide-bars 17 and having its ends secured to the adjacent arm 7 by a bolt 20, as shown in Fig. 5. One end of each strap or sleeve 19 lies between cross-piece 8 and arm 7. Y The straps or sleeves 19 may be provided withinternal antifriction guide-rollers, as 21, instead of blocks or other rigid guides. Further, each crosspiece 15 16 of the fork-head 14 is connected to the lifter-arms 7 7 by two clevises 22 22. Each of said clevises is made as shown in Fig. 6. The clevises 22 are connected to said cross-pieces bybolts 23. Antifriction-rollers 24 are mounted on pins or bolts 25 in the clevis and run along the narrow sides of the arms 7 7. In the upper or lower pair of clevises 22 the rollers 24 are set farther apart than the width of the arms 7 7 for permitting the long teeth 14' to'be inclined toward said arms 7 7, so that said teeth may lie against said arms when in receiving or loading position.

On the upper end of each lifter-arm 7 is mounted a pulley 26, covered by a hood 27. Around each of said pulleys passes a rope 28, the upper end of which is secured to some convenient portion of the fork-head 14 for lifting the same. A pair of pulleys 29 29 are mounted on the lifter-arms 17 17, respectively, opposite the pulleys 9 9. The ropes 28 28 pass down between pulleys 29 29 and the arms 17 17, and their lower ends are secured to cross-piece 4 in any preferred manner.

The effect of-the above described manner of connecting the fork-head 14 is that when the lifter-arms are raised by the ropes 13 a point is reached where the ropes 28 are stretched tight, as shown in Fig. 1, and the continued movement of arms 7 against the ropes 28 causes the fork-head to be raised above the lifter-arms 7, as will be readily understood. Ropes should be so adjusted that the forkhead 14 will begin to rise relatively to the lifter-arms when the arms 7 7 reach an angle of about thirty degrees from the vertical.

The lower ends of ropes 28 may be provided with hooks and eyebolts located at different heights on the braces 3, so that the ropes may be quickly and easily adjusted if necessary. \Vhen very large loads are being raised, it may be desirable not to have the sliding up of the fork-head 14 begin until the arms 7 are in a more nearly vertical position, thereby relieving the team or other power of a certain amount of strain. The longer the ropes 28 the farther the arms 7 may move before the fork-head 14 is lifted. When the arms 7 are lowered to the ground, the fork-head 14 will be in the position shown in Fig. 1. To hold it in this position, so that it cannot be drawn out by the operation of loading the hay upon it, I secure a curved lever 32 pivotally to the middle of cross-piece 8. The end of the let ver 32 adjacent to the fork-head 14 is bento form a hook 33, which engages a staple or eye 35, attached to the butt of one of the teeth 14 or to the lower cross-piece 16. The opposite arm of lever 32 is bent substantially as shown and carries at its end a weight 34, which causes the hook 33 to drop when the arms 7 are lowered, but disengages the hook from its eye or staple 35 before the fork-head 14 begins to slide upward. WVhen the arms 7 are down, the ropes 28 would form slack between pulleys 26 and 29, and this slack might be caught by a tooth of the rake used for loading the stacker. To permit such slack from forming, I secure on each rope 28 a clamp or button 36, and above each clamp or button a short piece of helical expansionspring 37. The buttons or clamps are large enough to prevent the springs 37 from slipping over them. Hence when the arms 7 are descending and reach a point a little lower than that shown in Fig. 1 the pulleys 29 will meet the upper ends of the springs 37 and will thereby draw the ropes 28 taut between pulleys 26 and 29. A modification which might be employedor resorted to is shown in Fig. 7. The change consists only in attaching the ropes 28 in a different manner to the slide-bars 17. For this purpose an eyebolt 38 is set in each end of crosspiece 8, and a grooved pulley 39 is mounted on the lower end of each slide-bar 17 Above each pulley 39 alongside of pulley 9 is a grooved pulley 42, secured to lifter-arm 7. The upper end of each rope 28 is connected to one of the eyebolts 38 and passes down around pulley 39, then up around pulley 42, then down to one of the eyebolts 38. When the arms 7 are raised past a certain point, the ropes or cables 28 will push up the pulleys 39, and thereby push up the fork-head 14 by means of the slide-bars 17 The slide-bars 17 instead of being mounted upon the outer faces of the lifter-arms 7 may be placed edgewise against said arms,as shown in Fig. 8, and held in that position by sleeves 41, similar to sleeves 18, described heretofore.

The points where the hoods 27 27 touch the ground when lowered should be marked, and the sod under each hood should be removed with a spade to allow the arms 7 7, and hence the teeth 14, to lie closer to the ground to facilitate loading.

In operation the ropes 28 are not employed until the stack is about as high as the bottom of the fork-head 14. If it is desired to build the stack higher than that, the ropes 28 are attached to eyebolts 31 or cross-piece 4, and thus the longitudinal movement of the forkhead is brought into play, as described heretofore.

Having now fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is-

1. In a stacker, a frame, lifter-arms pivoted thereon, cords for raising and lowering said arms, a pulley 26 on the upper end of each arm, a pulley 29 set on each arm between the ends thereof, a fork-head mounted slidably on said arms, and a pair of cords passing over said pulleys 26 and under said pulleys 29 and having their upper ends connected to said fork-head, substantially as described.

2. In a stacker, a frame, lifter-arms pivoted thereon,cords for raising or lowering said arms, a pulley 26 on the upper end of each arm, a pulley 29 set on each arm between the ends thereof, a fork-head mounted slidably on said arms, and a pair of cords passing over said pulleys 26 and under said pulleys 29 and having their upper ends connected to said IIO fork-head, and their lower ends adapted to be connected to the lower portion of said frame, substantially as described.

3. In astacker, a frame,lifter-arms pivoted thereon, a bar mounted slidably on each of said arms, guides for holding said bars against said arms, a fork-head secured to said slidable bars, a pulley 29 set on each arm below the fork-head a pulley set on the top of each arm, and a cord passing over the top of each arm and under each pulley 29 and secured at one end to said fork-head and adapted to be secured at its other end to the lower portion of said frame, substantially as described.

at. In a stacker, a frame, lifter-arms pivoted thereon, a fork-head mounted slidahly on said arms, a cross-piece connecting said arms, below said fork-head, a staple or eye set in the butt of the fork-head, and a lever mounted head, the cords 28 connected thereto, the pul-' leys 29, helical expansion-springs 37 around said respective cords, and clamps on said cords for holding said springs against said ,pulleys when the fork-head isin position for being loaded, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM SAIGHMAN.

Witnesses:

O. M. VAN DORSTON, M. L. LANGE. 

